The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98White Yodavisxe2x80x99.
The new Chrysanthemum is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Light Davis, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,293. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within a population of plants of xe2x80x98Light Davisxe2x80x99 in June, 1996 in De Lier, The Netherlands. The selection of this plant was based on its white ray floret color.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in De Lier, The Netherlands in August, 1996. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar White Yodavis has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and/or light level, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique charactersitics of xe2x80x98White Yodavisxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98White Yodavisxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Chrysanthemum:
1. Upright and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Dark green foliage.
3. Typically grown as a natural spray-type.
4. Nine-week response time.
5. Very freely flowering.
6. Daisy-type inflorescences that are about 5.2 cm in diameter.
7. White ray florets and bright yellow disc florets.
8. Excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good substance and color for at least three weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the parent cultivar Light Davis and the cultivar Davis, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,325. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Salinas, Calif., plants of the new Chrysanthemum have white-colored ray florets whereas plants of the cultivar Light Davis have light lavender pink-colored ray florets and plants of the cultivar Davis have lavender pink-colored ray florets.